Here in Calif, seems to be a bit of a problem w/handicap placards. From San Jose Merc Newspaper article: “up to 35,000 parking placards in use were in the names of deceased people and 26,000 were to holders over the age of 100, though California had just 8,000 centenarians … no limit on the number of replacement permits that could be ordered, and some people had requested more than 16.”
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Doesn’t CA put expiration dates on their placards? FL has the date clearly posted on the placard, same yellow sticker that is on the license plate.
Disabled person placard renewal notices are sent by mail and can be renewed online. A person can help grandma renew her permit while she is resting in the grave and perhaps later help her vote.
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C’mon, …highjacking dead grandma’s handicap placard just take up those valuable spaces near the door just shows low moral character.
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My employer provided privileged parking for those enrolled in the “ride share” program, employees who carpool. During the ten years this program ran, I never saw two people get into or out of a car together.
The ride share spaces were also available to hybrid vehicles. After a new employee complained that all 12 spaces were always taken, the building superintendent looked into the problem. The next day there were only 2 cars parked there.
Many of the “entitled” violators were in there 30s and drove sports cars, no guilt felt for parking a $40,000 gas hog in a carpool spot.
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I have watched construction workers park their trucks in downtown Oakland and haul their tools and equipment onto a job site after hanging a handicapped permit on the rear view mirror. Perhaps their handicap is a complete lack of personal responsibility.
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Remember sitting in a restaurant looking over the parking lot while raining. Car pulls into a handicapped spot, and 6 people get out and all run to the doors. Now I hate to judge, but that looked like hanger abuse to me!
Had an uncle with a serious heart condition which limited his ability to walk any distance so he had a handicap tag but no obvious handicap. Occasionally he’d get berated by passers by for handicap tag abuse so I wouldn’t be too quick to judge.
On the other hand for for those selfish, lazy, lowlifes who actually do abuse it, there’s always Karma.
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+1
When I had a temporary (3 month) handicapped hang-tag for my mirror, the expiration date was very prominent and easy to see.
Whatever they did before, they are apparently planning to change the program now. I have a blind friend living in San Francisco who has a placard. It was definitely useful when I’d drive up from San Jose to visit him. I wanted to give him a chance to get out and about a bit, tourist stuff, restaurant dining and the like. So the activities usually involved parking in congested areas. The handicap spots are bigger than the normal spots, so more room to get him and his guide dog in & out out of the car more safely in traffic. Unfortunately haven’t visited him since Corolla off the road due to Covid complications.
My wife and I were in Yosemite in July when we were 70 years old. The visiter center is a long way from the parking lot so there are shuttle buses. We were not allowed on the shuttle bus because we had our 25 lb West Highland Terrier with us. It was 106 degrees, a temperature never experienced in the Buffalo NY area.
A van with CA plates had pulled up beside us in the parking lot with a family and a golden retriever. The driver, the father, got out of the van, out on dark glasses and a white tipped cane and took the golden retriever who had on a harness with a handle and marched past us onto the shuttle bus. We saw them later going up a hiking trail we were not allowed on because of our dog.
I have never been overly impressed with Californians.
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Until Florida changed the law about 8 years ago, any dog could be registered as a service dog. My barber had her Shih Tsu registered as a service dog so she could have it at the barbershop.
lol … funny story. I’ve never seen anything like that myself, but I don’t visit Yosemite very much either. A little too crowded, folks tend to get ornery in overly crowded situations. As far a abuse of the system, I do see what appears to be that sometimes. In one case a large Mercedes pulled into two handicap spots in front of a Whole Foods grocery store, normal parking lot very full, taking not one, but two spots. Two youngish, healthy looking men dressed in black business suites got out and walked briskly into the store, laughing.
If they know that these placards are for deceased people. then they should be revoked. Sounds like an administrative problem, and people are taking advantage of it.
I worked with a guy who had a disabled wife and drove her car with the HDCP plates to work and parked in one of the HDCP spots. He was such a jerk.
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I had quadriceps tendon surgery early 2021. Once I could drive again I still parked nowhere near the door of a business, and never signed up for a handicap card. I thought it was good therapy to take the long walk.
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Got my hip replaced. Wifey asked about a handicap thing, doc said no he needs to walk! Sure maybe a week with a walker, no complaint!
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Over 20 years ago I had a HDCP place card for few weeks after knee surgery. It did come in handy a few times. Some businesses (Like Lowes) have Veteran spots. Don’t have to be handicapped…Just a veteran.
Some 40+ years ago when HDCP spots were first being introduced a friend of mine was a paraplegic. Went to this plaza and found all the hdcp spots filled and only 2 had HDCP plates. He left a note on the non plated cars…Spray painted on the side of their car.
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One bookstore I used to frequent (prior to Covid) had 6 parking spots near the front of the door, 2 on each side were handicap, the middle two were ordinary parking spots. I pulled into one of those and got a mean, scowling face from someone getting out of their car in a handicap spot … lol … I explained the one I was parking in was just an ordinary spot, but this idea didn’t go over well. No, no it didn’t … lol … Eventually the store made all 6 handicap spots, probably to prevent this sort of misunderstanding among the patrons. I never saw more than 4 of the 6 spots being used at the same time though.
“On the other hand for for those selfish, lazy, lowlifes who actually do abuse it, there’s always Karma.”
Karma’s too slow. And sometimes misses the target.
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In my state, renewal of a handicap placard requires certifiction by one’s physician, and mine questions me carefully before she issues it to me. I hardly think she’d issue one for my dead granny.